Barber&#39;s hair-cutting machine



- E.-'V. N. TOMASULO;

BAYRBERS HAIR CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 8, 1919.

1,379,662. Patented May 31,1921.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

hwew/zor E. V N. TOMASULOQ ARBER'S HAIR CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION ru zn OCT- 8, 19m.

' Patented May 311 11921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a Z M? Z 13 m w w a Ewen?? EPIFANIO V. N. TOMASULO, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

BARBERS HAIR-CUTTING- MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

Application filed October 8, 1919. Serial No. 329,308.

' T 0 all whom it may concern:

ton-and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful BarbersHair-Cutting Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to barbering; and the objects of my improvement areto perform operations of this kind, such as haircutting and the like,with greater ease and rapidity, saving the time of the barber and of thecustomer; and to cut the hair more evenly and smoothly, eitherof uniformlength all over the head, or with gradually and smoothly increasinglength from one part of the head or neck to another, as well as readilypermitting any abrupt-v change from shorter to longer hair where this isrequired. Other objects of my improvement are to afford the barber allthe ease of holding and guiding the machine that has been afforded bythe well known clippers to which the barber has become accustomed, whilerealizing the just mentioned advantages; to provide for easy running ofthe machine, without use of excessive power or exertion by the barber,and without overheating; to practically prevent either entrance ofcuttings to or leakage of lubricant from the mechanism of the device;and to avoid injury or unpleasantness either to the barber or thecustomer, incident to the operation of the machine by electric or otherpower. Other objects will appear in the course of the ensuingdescription.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated, for example, in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a general perspective viewof a barbers hair-cutting machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the same with the casing-head andcover re moved, to show the interior construction;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the casing head;

Fig. 4: is a similar view from the opposite side, showing the casingslightly modified;

Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the complete machine, thesection being on vertical planes corresponding to the broken line 5,5 ofFig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same, with the cover removed;

Fig. 7 is a detailperspective view of the worm gear and rollerwrist-bearing Fig. 8 is a similar view of the lever; and

Fig. 9 is-abottom plan view of the complete machine As herein shown,andas I prefer to construct' my invention, there are parts like those foundin-an ordinary well known hairclipper; these being the lowercutter-plate 1 with the teeth 2 of any desired coarseness or fineness,along its front edge, and the upper cutting-plate 3 with similar teethalong its front edge, to cooperate with the lower plate by slidingtransversely thereacross, in the well known manner of clippers of thiskind. The casing-head 5 is also somewhat similar to those of suchordinary clippers; having its front lower edge 6 bearing on the ridge 7that the upper plate 3 has across it just back of the teeth.

The casing 8 has at the top of its front end the post-lug 9 extendingforwardly and upwardly, with the post 10 fixed therein and projecting uptherefrom substantially at right angles to the plane of contact of thecutting-plates 1 and 3. The casing-head 5 has a neck 11 on its top,fitting down on the post 10 and yie'ldably held down against the upperplate 3, as before mentioned, by a thumbnut 12 with a. spring washer 12'interposed against the top 'of the neck 11. The casing 8 also has thebrackets 13, projecting forwardly and upwardly from the bottom of itsfront end, to which brackets 13 the lower cutting-plate 1 has itsrearend part screwed firmly. The upper cuttingplate 3 has transverse slotsllnear opposite ends, receivingguide-blocks 15 fixed in the lower plate 1;and'has in the middle of its rear edge the notch 16. The casing-head 5has at the rear end of its top a boss 17 by which it pivotally bears onthe top of the casing Sin a depression 17' at the base of the post lug9; and at one side of its inner front wall this head 5 has a slot 18 inwhich is received the adjacent guide-block 15, to keep the casing-head 5from turning on its post 10. These are usual details of the well knownclipper before mentioned.

The casing 8 extends back from the casing-head 5 and cutting plates 1and 3 a considerable distance, and has the latter inclined upwardly andforwardly from it at a substantial angle, that here shown being aboutforty-five degrees. The bottom 19 of the casing, like the bottom of thelower.

of the machine is closed effectively against... the entrance of cuttingsor the escape of lubricant. The flat bottom 19 oins the flat bottom ofthe lower cutting-plate 1 through a convex curve 20 of ample radius,this curve being the bottom of the front end of the casing, where itforms its junction with the plate 1.

The top of the casing 8 has an opening with a removable cover plate 21held therein by suitable screws entering parts of the easing 8 adjacentto the edges of the openlng.

The right-hand side of the casing 8 has, near the rear end thereof, alateral properly shaped finger-grip. 22, and extending back from thisrear end at this side is the handle 23. At the left, or opposite side,the casing 8 has the thumb-engaging lug or element 24 extending upwardlyand laterally therefrom, near the rear end thereof, and has extendingback from this rear end at this opposite side, the handle 25. Theseparts 22, 23, 24: and 25 are shaped substantially the same as those ofthe well known clippers before mentioned; so that the machine may beheld in the manner that the barber is accustomed to, from longexperience with the ordinary clippers. The machine differs essentiallyfrom such ordinary clippers, however, not merely in the provision forpower operation, as will presently be described, but in the combinationwith such accustomed disposition of the handles and finger and thumbengaging elements of the peculiar disposition of the handle part thusconstituted relative to the hair-cutting part comprising the beforedescribed cutting-plates and their accessories, and the bottoms of theseparts, of the substantial general inclination to each other and joinedby a part of ample prominence, as the curve 20. As here shown, thecasing bottom 19 is of about the same width as the bottom of thecutting-plate 1, as is also the junction curve 20, which latter alsoconforms transversely to the substantially flat formation of thesebottoms. With such ample area, and suflicient prominence at thejunction, from which the bottoms recede upwardly from each other at sucha substantial angle, there is constituted a sufiicient support for themachine against the neck or side of the head of the customer, while thehead part of the machine, or hair-cutting means, comprising the head 5and the cutting-plates 1 and 3, is inclined out away from the head byreason of the handle part being swung in by the action of the barbershand, as the machine is passed up the sides of the head from the necktoward the top of the head of the customer.

This machine thus affords a practical means whereby the hair can be cutof regularly increasing length from the neck up to and including the topof the head of the customer, without the necessity of using handscissors to smooth the hair cut or to finish around the top of the head,as where the lower parts are cut with either a hand or power operatedclipper and the hair on the top is cut with scissors. The curvedjunction and the contiguous prominent or flat part of the casing orhandle-part bottom thus constitute a heel or fulcrum for accuratecontrol of this swinging or inclining action of the barber, so that hecan produce very smooth and attractive work with great facility.

The just described improvement may be realized either in hand-operatedor poweroperated machines, the latter being exemplified herein, withcertain improvement of the mechanism, as will now be described. A handmachine of this kind may have the usual operative connections betweenthe handle parts and the hair-cutting means, as is well known in suchmachines; although they have the parts differently disposed.

The rear end of the casing 8 has an interior boss 26 at its left side,with a bore receiving the bushing 27, held therein by'a set screw 27 inthe top of the boss, which bushing receives in its front end the rearshaftextension of the worm 28 which has its front shaft-extension in aboss 29 forming part of the left casing side at the 100 front endthereof, with a small bushing 30 pressed into it to form the shaftbearing. The rear end of the bushing 27 is counterbored and the rearshaft-extension of the worm 28 is bored and slotted; these 1 partsreceiving the clutch-hub 31 of the flexible shaft 32. This hub isretained by a dog 33 yieldably entering or leaving an annular groove 34around the hub 31; being held for this by a spring 35.held down in a 110barrel 36 by a cap 37 the barrel being screwed into an opening in theside of the outer enlarged part 27 of the bushing 27 just to the rearofthe casing 8, and the cap being screwed onto the outer end of the 115barrel.

The worm gear 38 is journaled on a screw 39 in a suitable hub on thebottom of the casing interior, and meshes with the worm 28. In the upperside of the gear 38 is fixed 120 the wrist pin 40 on which is a smallroller sleeve 11. The gear bearing-screw 39 has its head sunk in thegear, out of the Way of this roller sleeve 41.

The lever 42 has its fulcrum-screw 43 125 passing up through its hub 44into a bearing-lug 45 on the front end of the post-lug 9. This pivot orfulcrum-screw has its axis parallel with that of the worm gear 38. It Iis locked in the lug 4.5 by a lock-nut 46 at the no top. The lever 42has the short front arm 47 extending upwardly and then downwardly andengaging in the middle notch 16 of the upper cutting-plate 3. This lever42 also has the long rear arm 48 curving down through the middle of theopen front end of the casing 8 and extending back across the upper sideof the worm gear 38, where it is widened and thickened and has in itslower side the elongated slot 49 that receives the pin 40 androller-sleeve 41. The lower edges of this part of the lever, around theslot 49, extend very close to the gear side, to retain the lubricantaround the wrist bearing and prevent its splattering to other parts ofthe casing. This function is also served by the closed top of the lever,over the slot 49, which top also keeps the rollersleeve 41 down on itspin 40 without any special retaining means.

The cover plate 21 is preferably fitted inside rabbeted edges of the topopening of the casing 8; and the rear edge 50 of the lower cutting-plate1 also preferably fits in a rabbet along the front end of the casingbottom. The casing-head 5 is approximately bell-shaped in front, as itwidens down from its top neck 11 to the cutting-plates 1 and 3. Itsbottom, at its sides, extends very close to these plates, and the sidesof the front end of the casing 8 and the sides of the casinghead 5conform closely; the casing end preferably having rabbets 5 receivingthe ends of the head 5 as closely as is consistent with the slightrelative movement the head 5 must have in adjusting it down against thecutting plates 1 and 3 as before described.

An oil hole 51 is provided in the top of the casing-head 5 over theinclosed pivot bearing of the lever 42; and an oil hole 52 opens fromthe outside of the casing 8, at the left, into the worm-shaft bearing inthe bushing 30 of the boss 29. The rear worm bearing is oiled throughthe open end of the bushing 27 when the flexible shaft 32 isdisconnected. The lever arm 48 has the oil hole 53 down into its slot 49from its top.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the only difference is in itshaving ventilating slots 54 and 54.in the right-hand side and rear end,respectively, of its casing 8, a substantial distance up from the casingbottom 19. These slots 54 and 54 preferably have screens 55 and 55,respectively, across them inside the casing, which permit passage of airinto and out of the casing to cool the mechanism therein, but whichpractically prevent entrance of cut hair or other foreign matter whichwould clog the mechanism. By having these slots well up from the bottom,there is practically no escape of lubricant; because of the inclosure ofthe wrist bearing by the lever arm 48, as before described, and becausethese slots are remote from the rapidly turning worm 28. The

gear 38 turns relatively slowly, and does not throw Off a noticeableamount of lubricant. Also, it is preferable to use a lubricant of stiffconsistency for the worm and gear, which is not thrown ofi' easily, butwhich would work out through any crevices if these were left in theextreme lower parts of the casing. Where the slight heating of themachine, due to the rapid running of the worm, is not objectionable,these vents may be dispensed with, as is the case in all of the examplesexcept the modification of Fig. 4. This heating is never suflicient toinjure the machine, but may become slightly unpleasant to the customershead and neck where the bottom and sides of the machine directly contactwith the skin, and also to the barbers hand. There is not so muchheating in this present machine with the relatively long rear lever arm48, giving the gear mechanism a great mechanical advantage inreciprocating the cutting-plates, as there is with the fulcrum of thelever located back in the casing 8, closer to the wrist bearing.

y having this fulcrum in the casing-head 5, in front of the clampingpost, the maximum advantage in this respect is attained; and by havingthis pivot parallel with the gear axis, and not attempting to pivot thelever on the clamping post, as has been customary in hand-clippers andalso in many power clippers, the operative connection between the handlepart and the hair-cutting parts of the clipper is simplified, becausethe very slight discrepancy between the motions of the short frontlever-arm 47 and the upper cutting-plate 3 is practically negligible,whereas, if the discrepancy would be between the long rear arm 48 andthe worm gear 38, it would be so considerable as to require complicatedmeans for operatively connecting t e gear and lever.

The worm and worm gear are located well forward in the casing, leavingample room for the rear worm-shaft bearing inside the casing, andreducing the extension at the rear to merely that required for thedetachable shaft-connect-ion. This connection being far up between thehandles 23 and 25, avoids obstruction to the ready swinging of themachine as before described, such as occurs with the shaft-connection atthe extreme rear end of the machine, and is out of the way of thebarbers fingers.

The neck 11 on the top of the casing-head 5, unitary therewith, isshaped to receive around it a suitable hook or other hanging means onthe barbers stand or other means on which the machine is kept while notused, and to avoid sliding off this hook or the like, preventingengagement therewith of the thumb-nut 12. Thus, the adjustment of thecutting means is not disturbed, as is the case where the thumb-nut hasthe neck with which hanging engagement is made.

. ment of its objects as enumerated, but being deemed preferable in thepresent example. Therefore, while I have shown and described certainpreferred details rather specifically to elucidate the construction anduse of my invention, as is required, I do not wish to be understood asbeing limited to such precise showing and description, but having thusfully described my invention, what I- claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing means for leading arevolving shaft into said casing, a lever mounted in the easing,mechanism housed within the casing for converting the revolving motionof the shaft to an oscillating motion of the lever, said casing andlever being bent upwardly at the working end, fixed and movable cuttingplates mounted at said turn-ed up portion and means for fulcruming thelever within said turned up portion on apivot which extends at an acuteangle to the plates, said lever having connection with the movable plateto vibrate the same.

2. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing'means for leading arevolving shaft into said casing, a lever mounted in thecasing,'mech'anism housed within the casing for converting the revolvingmotion of the shaft to an oscillating motion of the lever, said casingand lever being bent upwardly at the working end, fixed and movablecutting plates mounted at said turned up portion and means forfulcruming the lever within said turned up portion on a pivot whichextends at an acute angle to the plates, said lever having connectionwith the movable plate to vibrate thesame, said lever fulcrum being in aplane parallel to the main body of'the casing.

8. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing means for leading arevolving shaft into said casing, a lever mounted in the easing, amechanism housed within the casing for converting the revolving motionof'the shaft to an oscillating motion of the lever, said casing andlever being bent upwardly at the working end, fixed and movable cuttingplates mounted at said turned up portion andmeans for fulcruming thelever within said turned up portion on a pivot out of a perpendicularwith said plates, said lever having connection with the movable plate tovibrate the same, the casing being formed in a gradual curve at theangle of turn thereof to provide a rocking base for the tilting of thecutters.

4. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing means for leading arevolving shaft into said casing, a lever mounted in the casing,mechanism housed within the casing for converting the revolving motionof the shaft to an oscillating motion of the lever, said casing andlever being bent upwardly at the working end, fixed and movable cut:ting plates mounted at said turned up portion and means for fulcrumingthe lever within said turned up portion, said lever having connectionwith'thei movable plate to vibrate the same, and screened ventilatingopenings in the casing to prevent over heating without exposing themechanism to clogging with hair.

5. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing means for leading arevolving shaftinto said casing, a lever mounted in the casing,mechanism housed within the casing for converting the revolving motionof the shaft to an oscillating motion of the lever, said casing andlever being bentupwardly at the working end, fixed and movable cuttingplates mounted at said turned up portion and means for fulcruming thelever within said turned up portion, said lever having connection withthe movable. plate to vibrate the same, the extent of the lever from thefulcrum to the mechanism, within the housing being much greater than theextent from the fulcrum to the movable plate. 7

6. In a barbers hair cutting machine, a casing, a fixed cutter plate onthe casing, said casing having a portion of the upper part thereof bentupwardly and spaced away from the fixed cutter plate, a movable cutterplate mounted so as to move on the fixed plate, and means on saidbent upupper portion of the casing for retaining the movable plate in placeagainst the fixed plate, anoper ating device for the movable plate, andmeans for suspending it from said bent up portion.

7. In a barbers hair cutting machine a casing, a fixed cutter plateonthe casing, said casing having .aportion of the upper part thereofbent upwardly and away from the fixed plate, a movable cutter platemounted on the fixed plate, a tension cap for retaining the movablecutter plate againstthe fixed plate, means for operating the movableplate, andmeans on the said bent up portion to retain thetension cap inadjusted position thereon, said means being confined to the said upperportion so as not to interfere with the space between it and the fixedand movable plates.

8; In a barbers hair cutting machine a casing, a fixed cutter plate onthe casing, said casing having a portion of the upper part 7 adjustedposition thereon, said means being confined to the said upper portion soas not to interfere with the space between it and the fixed and movableplates, the operating device for the movable plate comprising a leversuspended from said bent up portion of the casing, and an oscillatingpower driven mechanism in the casing, adapted to swing the lever, as andfor the purpose described.

-9. In a barbers hair cutting machine a casing, a fixed cutter plate onthe casing, said casing having a portion of the upper part thereof bentupwardly and away from the fixed plate, a movable cutter plate mountedso as to move on the fixed plate, a tension cap for retaining themovable cutter plate against the fixed plate, means for operating themovable plate, and means on the said bent up portion to retain thetension cap in adjusted position thereon, said means being confined tothe said upper portion soas not to interfere with the'space between itand the fixed and movable plates the operating device for the movableplate comprising a rotary power driven member having an eccentricelement thereon, a lever suspended from the casing, and engaging thesaid eccentric element, said eccentric element being thereby freed fromthe duty of supporting said lever, and connection between the lever andthe movable plate whereby it is moved to and fro by the oscillations ofthe lever.

10. I11 a barbers hair cutting machine a casing, a fixed cutter plate onthe casing, said casing part thereof spaced from the fixed plate, amovable cutter plate mounted on the fixed plate, a tension cap forretaining the movable cutter plate against the fixed plate, means foroperating the movable plate, and means on the said spaced portion of thehaving a portion of the uppercasing to retain the tension cap inadjusted position thereon, said means being confined to the said portionso as not to interfere with the space between it and the fixed andmovable plates.

11. In a hair clipper, a casing having a convex forward portion, astationary cutter blade secured to said portion, the blade having itsouter surface flush with said convex portion, a movable cutter mountedupon the stationary blade, a lever pivoted adjacent said movable cutterthe axis of the pivot being perpendicular to a plane defined by themajor portion of the casing, a tension cap secured to the forwardportion of the casing by means of a bolt having its axis perpendicularto the cutter blade, said tension cap bearing at its forward portionupon said movable cutter and mechanism within the casing in engagementwith the lever to oscillate the same.

12. In a barbers hair cutting machine a casing terminating in anupwardly directed cutter blade, a convex curve upon which the device maybe tilted while in operation, a curved lever mounted by means of a pivotwhich depends from the top of the casing adjacent the movable blade andabove the stationary plate and in engagement with said movable blade,and means for operating said lever.

13. In a barbers hair cutting machine a substantially rectangular casinghaving handle extensions and finger grips, said casing adapted toreceive and house operating mechanism for a power operated clipper andscreened ventilating apertures suitably located about the casing and aremovable cover for the casing.

EPIFANIO V. N. TOMASULO.

